By RORY McCARTHY

Contributing Reporter

With the mainstream media’s obsession with violent video games and their effects corrupting America’s youth, it’s easy to forget that there are a great deal of games that don’t cast you in the role of a bounty hunter, thief or soldier, but in the role of something positive.

One such game is “Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice” for the Nintendo DS, a title that lets players step into the shoes of a rookie defense attorney out to clear the names of wrongfully-accused murder suspects.

“Apollo Justice” is the newest installment in the Ace Attorney series of games that have achieved cult popularity among handheld gamers.  

The Ace Attorney games revolve around two distinct types of gameplay: the investigation sections, where you inspect crime scenes and search for evidence to help your case, and the court segments, where you punch holes in the prosecution’s argument by cross examining witnesses and finding contradictions in their statements. 

Winning in Ace Attorney is based solely on your comprehension of details you uncover and drawing links between crucial pieces of evidence. Players are required not to simply react, but to think.

It’s a stark contrast to the twitchy shoot-em-ups shown on the evening news.

“Apollo Justice” brings in a couple of new features to the series to keep fans from becoming jaded. The first is the Perceive system, where the player has the opportunity to closely examine a witness in the middle of a testimony to search for telltale signs that they’re trying to cover something up.  

For example, you can tell when a witness is trying to cover for the defendant when they have difficulty swallowing while talking about the crime. By pointing this out, you can press the witness into coming clean.

Another addition that makes good use of the DS’s touch screen capability is the forensics investigation mode, where you can do things like take plaster molds of footprints or spray the crime scene with luminol to search for traces of blood. 

Dusting for fingerprints, for example, is done by tapping the touch screen to spread powder on a surface, and then blowing into the microphone to remove the excess dust. These bits engage the player more directly and provide a nice break from the mind-bending trial sections.

A feature returning from previous games is the option to use the DS’s microphone to shout “Objection!” out loud instead of simply pressing a button when you want to prove a contradiction or “Hold it!” when you want to press a witness on part of their testimony. 

It’s easy to get so involved in the game that you defiantly declare your objections with Matlockian fervor, sometimes causing people in the public places you happen to be in to give you terrified glances.

But the game never takes itself too seriously, as exemplified by characters such as the district attorney who moonlights as a rockstar, or the harmonica-playing chef with ramen noodles for hair.  

It’s a good thing, because the atmosphere makes it easier to let other details slide, such as the fact that witnesses are never charged with perjury for their lies, or that the judge will declare your defendant guilty even when the prosecution’s story is about as airtight as a sieve.

If you’d rather blow off steam by mowing down a few dozen generic bad guys with an infinite-ammo machine gun, then this game is not for you. 

But if you’re interested in playing a funny, colorful courtroom drama that requires thought processes beyond “shoot whatever moves,” then give “Apollo Justice” a try.